East India Star on Iyer’s snub

Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan has slammed Gautam Gambhir over his response on Shreyas Iyer’s snub from the squad for the England series. The Mumbai batter has been left out of the main team and India A team despite putting up consistent performances in domestic tournaments and IPL 2025. The five-match Test series against England will commence from June 20 onwards.

“Gambhir only rejects”

Speaking on “Bails and Banters” show, Wassan claimed that India head coach Gambhir only rejected and never selected. He noted that the coach had a role in the selection of a team and that the selectors would surely seek his opinion before taking a call.

“He [Gambhir] Does not select; He only rejects. The coach has a role in the selection of the team, and the selectors also hear the squad before naming them. If he has been given this post, I think he wants to go with his spirit, whether it is right or wrong“Atul said.

What Gambhir said about Iyer’s snub

Gautam Gambhir, who was recently in the spotlight during an interaction at the Goswami Ganesh Dutt Memorial Cricket Tournament, faced some tough questions about the Indian team’s selection for the Test series.

When asked why Shreyas Iyer wasn’t included, he simply said, “Main selector nahin hoon (I am not the selector)” meaning he’s not responsible for picking the team. He wants to make it clear that the selectors are the ones who make those decisions, not him, taking indirect shots at BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar, perhaps.

The 30-year-old scored 480 runs in just five Ranji matches last season, averaging 68.57 with two centuries. More importantly, he appeared to have finally overcome his long-standing issues against short-pitched bowling—something evident in his dominant showing during India’s Champions Trophy win, where he was the team’s highest run-scorer and second overall in the tournament.